Any unoccupied building can be subject to a wide range of emergencies requiring immediate attention, such as burglaries, fires, equipment failures, (e.g. boilers, water pipes, etc.), and when such buildings are unoccupied, the danger is obviously most great. Any system that can identify such emergencies, characterize them, and transmit this information to a distant receiver would plainly be of great value to anyone owning any kind of building, be it commercial or residential. Any such system that can do this while being simple to manufacture and operate, and inexpensive to purchase, is plainly of even greater value.